The UN’s Mine Action Service is getting people talking with “Kick Off”, a television commercial set on an American soccer field. A game of girls soccer (football) kicks off. Parents watch from the sidelines, cheering when their daughter scores a goal. In the middle of the euphoria, a bomb goes off in the middle of the field. The explosion appears to kill and injure some girls, sparking panic and chaos among parents and other children. Shrieks of horror are heard through much of the spot, and a father is shown cradling his daughter’s lifeless body, moments after celebrating a goal she had scored. A mother screams from the sidelines, her friends holding her back with fear of further land mine explosions.
We’re reminded that we wouldn’t stand for it if there were landmines planted in public areas. We’re called to action, joining in the United Nations’ work of removing antipersonnel, antitank and anti vehicle mines. “If there were landmines here, would you stand for them anywhere? Help the U.N. eradicate landmines everywhere.” The TV advert finishes with the web site address: www.stoplandmines.org. It’s an emotive ad, so emotive that some networks in the United States have chosen not to show it.
Credits
The ad was developed for the U.N.’s Mine Action Service by New York-based Brooklyn Brothers, New York, by creatives Callum MacGregor and Guy Barnett and agency producer Oscar Thomas.
Director was Kevin Thomas of Thomas Thomas Films with director of photography Brendan Galvin and producer Philippa Thomas.
Editor was Sabrina Huffman at Crew Cuts with assistant editor Kelly Erickner and producer Melanie Klein. Post production was done at Moving Images and at The Mill by colourist Tom Poole, executive producer Alistair Thompson, Wendy Garfinkle, Verity Grantham, and Elisha Levin. Online editing was done at Framestore, New York, by Murray Butler and Maryanne Lauric with managing director Jon Collins.
Audio post production was done at Nutmeg Post by mixer Chris Fina and producer Jon Adelman. Sound was designed by Bill Chesley at Amber Music with executive producer Michelle Curran and producer Kate Gibson.
Graphics were created by Loyalkaspar, New York, by creative directors Beat Baudenbacher and David Herbruck.
Principal actors were Blair Sams, C.J. Wilson, Zena Gray, Sarah Hyland and Jenna Rae Gaertner.
Other Videos
Also worth checking out are two other related sites:
“This land was mine”, online at www.thislandwasmine.org, features “Foreign Fields”, a Brooklyn Brothers quicktime video clip (7 MB mpeg) of a Cambodian farmer unable to use his own land because of land mines. “A landmine destroys livelihoods as well as lives”
www.mineaction.org, an educational web site, has links to the public service announcements, action groups around the world, and connections to the United Nations Mine Action Service.
I saw this on an episode of ‘Tarrant On T.V.’, a series which airs on television here in the UK, often in a late-night slot. I remember the serious look on the face of the host, Chris Tarrant, as he introduced it.
I agree that it is an emotive ad – I was almost upset by the advert – but should the US have really turned their backs on it? The US is the home of the PSA and has a reputation for telling it as it is. To me, it seems almost hypocritical that some US networks have chosen not to show it, when you think of the more upsetting adverts which have aired there. It’s an ad which bears a serious message which should not be ignored. It’s an ad that does not apologise for upsetting people, just like an anti-mines which aired here (UK) nine years ago and that’s how it should be. Ads like this should be shocking. Mines cause countless damage to life and property and this ad conveys this perfectly. We are a people who watch the news and believe that’s not going to happen to me. We need a wake-up call, and the United Nations have done just that, so the US networks should get their heads out of their backsides and show people that mines are very real and very dangerous.